Are you currently serving as the personal representative of a West Palm Beach estate? Are you serving as the trustee of a revocable trust? Are you involved in litigation on behalf of the estate or trust? Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know that disclosure of documents during discovery is vital to not being sanctioned at the same time over disclosure of privileged materials may spell breach of fiduciary duties! Do you know how to strike a balance? You may need to prepare a privilege log and request an in camera review of the files, do you know what that is?
West Palm Beach Privilege Logs
- A lot of things can be privileged in Florida for example there is an accountant privilege, a physicians privilege, a psycho-therapist privilege, clergy privilege and who could forget attorney-client.
- Those privileges do not assert themselves though, and when the other side in a will contest or trust dispute request those documents you will have to assert privilege to the court.
- Do you know how to do this?
- For one thing in Florida you are going to have to provide something called a privilege log to the West Palm Beach judge.
- This will list and describe all the items to which you are claiming a privilege to not disclose.
- Do not forget almost anything that is not privileged is discoverable; the standard in West Palm Beach is anything that may lead to admissible evidence may be discovered, absent a privilege.
- The judge may agree with you at first glance that certain items are privilege but if he does not he may request an in camera review.
- Do you know what this means?
- Basically you will be asked to bring the documents for him to review in chambers and decide if they are privileged.
- If you are worried about a judge’s order you may have trouble appealing since this is not a final order nor does it fit into an exception.
- Thus you may have to file a writ of certiorari that essentially says that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law.
- That’s what one litigant did in a medical malpractice appeal.
- Check out how to assert your privilege to an appeals court!
Bartow HMA v. Kirkland et. Al.
- This was an appeal from a medical malpractice action in the Second District Court of Appeals.
- The health care provider felt that the trial court orders completely ignored the laws of privilege but they could not appeal.
- So they petitioned for a writ of certiorari which is basically when the appeals court tells the trial court they departed from the essential rules of law.
- On appeal the writ was granted and the trial court will have to review the documents related to privilege more carefully.
- Are you prepared to create a privilege log and keep private and confidential material out of the other sides hands?
- Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know that for better or worse sometimes a probate dispute can really be a fact-finding mission to get vital financial information.
- Keep discovery proper by asserting and protecting your privileged documents.
Want to learn more about privilege logs in West Palm Beach?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.